France, Oct. 27 -- Some 7.3 million people are eligible to vote in an election shaped by questions over security, accountability and the country's future direction. The last published opinion polls put Netanyahu neck and neck with his main centrist challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.

The vote offers Israelis a chance to deliver their verdict on Netanyahu's wartime leadership and the growing influence of his far-right coalition partners. But a close result could lead to weeks or months of negotiations before a government emerges.

Hundreds of thousands of young Israelis are eligible to cast their first ballots, with surveys showing that they overwhelmingly identify as centre-right or right-wing. Tens of thousands of Israelis ...